Richie James was underutilized by the 49ers in 2019

Even as the San Francisco 49ers ended their season with effectively only three wide receivers significantly involved in their offense, Richie James was still underutilized as only a return weapon.

In what was a massively improved season by the San Francisco 49ers, one small wrinkle in it was the surprising few receivers who were significantly involved in the offense.

Rookie Deebo Samuel was a knockout, and Emmanuel Sanders came over from the Denver Broncos to form instant chemistry with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. However, with the exception of Kendrick Bourne, no other receiver was especially involved in the offense for varying reasons.

Whatever reason it was that kept Richie James out, however, is a mystery.

James has been relegated to mere cameo roles, but they’ve shown some serious potential. In his two seasons since being drafted by the 49ers, James has had only 15 catches.

However, these 15 catches were off only 24 targets and went for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

In short, James flashes some big-play potential whenever he’s on the field.

James is fast and able route runner, and he’s been a fighter for his entire career. Nobody would have backed him to be this entrenched on the roster, but winning the return job and doing a good job of it means he’s always been active for games.

Yet, for some reason, he’s being underutilized by San Francisco even after flashing some big potential whenever he is lucky enough to be on the field.

Defenses have to respect James when he’s on the field. Not only can he score a touchdown whenever he touches the ball due to his blistering speed, but he’s also a former high school quarterback who can throw if he needs to. We even saw a trick play from the 49ers James could use in this situation:

James can make that play, too. He can also function as a weapon on reverses if Samuel is injured or otherwise can’t do those plays. There’s a lot of ways to add James to the offense.

In short, an offensive mind like head coach Kyle Shanahan should be able to make more use of James. He’s taken a hold of the small opportunities he’s been given and has the versatility to thrive in this offense.

It’s common to see people say the 49ers need a wide receiver, but what if there was an answer already lying in wait on the roster?